Indian Army gets its 1st woman jawan, 35-year-old Sapper Shanti Tigga

NEW DELHI: Outperforming her male counterparts in the physical tests, 35-year-old Sapper Shanti Tigga joined the 969 Railway Engineer Regiment of the Territorial Army . A mother of two, she is the first woman jawan.

"Women are allowed to join the armed forces only as officers in the non-combat units. But Tigga has earned the distinction of being the first lady jawan in the 1.3 million strong defence forces," a senior army officer said.

"She performed exceedingly well in all the physical tests. She took five seconds less than her male counterparts to complete 1.5-km run. She completed the 50 meter run in 12 seconds which is rated as excellent," he said. Tigga also impressed her recruiters with her firing skills and was adjudged as the best trainee.

Employed with the railways as points-man posted in West Bengal, Tigga volunteered for the TA last year. "I joined railways in 2005 on compensatory ground after my husband passed away. Last year, I learnt about TA railways and I volunteered for it," Tigga said.